


Strength of Spirit, Strength of Heart

by babyfairy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Romance, allura just wants to protect shiro, sort of background paladins, they want shiro to be safe too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 11:38:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10513005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyfairy/pseuds/babyfairy
Summary: The princess is strong, but there are certain things that, quite simply, scare her.





	

It isn’t a bad burn. Shiro has had worse just trying to cook, and he won’t even get started on injuries he dealt with thanks to being a curious child. But really, it isn’t a bad burn.

Occasionally, the training bots malfunction. It’s a given; the castle and its technology are centuries old now, and as well as Coran and Allura know the place, and even with Pidge and Hunk learning their way around the insides to update things, shit happens.

But it was still surprising when the bot jerked and lashed out after being turned off, the flat side of its sword coming down against Shiro’s shoulder hard - and burning through the sleeve of his shirt.

Not a third degree burn, though. Painful, sore, annoying, but not anything threatening.

Shiro sits still on the steps of the medic bay. Everyone had suggested a healing pod; Keith was the loudest. But for an insignificant thing, it wasn’t necessary.

Hunk jogs back into the room with Lance at his side. “Okay, I found what I was looking for!” He announces. He sits down beside Shiro and lays out the contents in his arms - gauze wrap, clear tape, scissors, and stalks of a green plant that resembles an aloe plant. The differences are the fuzzy hairs covering its surface, the three rings circling the base of the stalks, and what’s inside.

Shiro watches as Hunk cuts open a stalk of the mysterious plant. Inside is a thick liquid, several shades of green lighter than the outside of it, sort of a pistachio green. Shiro raises a skeptical brow. Hunk dips his fingers into the stuff and presses them together lightly. 

“I don’t know the name of this, but it’s good for burns,” He explains, nudging the gauze to Lance. “Remember when Pidge got that ridiculous sunburn from that planet with four suns? Totally helped her out.” 

In front of them, Pidge nods. “Barely felt a thing once Hunk found that plant, and I wanted to die at first.”

Shiro remembers; he thought for sure Pidge was going to lose at least three layers of skin from just how red she had been.

Shiro twists his neck to watch Hunk apply his make shift burn cream to the angry red welt on his shoulder. His touch stings a bit, but his fingers are astoundingly gentle. 

Above Hunk’s head, Keith squints down at the wound, a petulant pout threatening his features. “Still should’ve gone in one of the pods,” He mutters. 

Smiling a bit, Shiro glances down at his shoulder again. “I think I’ll survive.” But Keith’s concern is comforting, none the less. He had been the first one at Shiro's side, yelling over his head before he pulled him into a sitting position. And it was only when Keith was satisfied that Shiro was still alive and wasn't in critical condition that anyone else was allowed to see his shoulder.

Across the room, Allura watches in silence. Her blue eyes are focused on Hunk’s careful ministrations. Her expression is blank, neutral.

Inside she is a quiet storm.

She can see that Shiro is fine, is safe. He hasn’t flinched once at the treatment’s he receiving, is smiling to reassure the others, is even making small jokes to lighten the mood.

Yet she cannot stop replaying the cause of the injury in her mind.

Allura often stays in the control room to oversee the paladins while they’re training, and to offer advice. Lately her guidance hasn’t been quite as necessary; they’ve all come remarkably far in their skills since their arrival at the Castle of Lions.

Lately, when she stays, it’s to watch Shiro. 

There is a deadly grace that he moves with that steals her breath away whenever she watches him train, or whenever she gets a moment to watch him in battle. Really, it’s hard to look away from him at all, but when he’s fighting? When he exudes grace and elegance with every move he makes? He’s all the more captivating.

So when the bot struck him, she was sure the floor had crumbled right out from under her.

The others had beaten her to Shiro's side, to helping him to his feet, but the sight of the hole in his shirt, the fresh, angry pucker on his skin - her heart had stopped and she wasn’t sure it would resume beating again.

So Allura watches them surrounding their leader, watches them tend to him and fuss the way she wishes to. Lance is careful as he covers the burn, which shines with the fresh coat of whatever that is that Hunk applied to it, careful to press it down so that Hunk can tape the gauze to his skin.

When they’re finished, Shiro smiles at them, bright and warm. “Thanks, guys,” He says, taking Keith’s hand to get to his feet. “Barely even feel it now.” 

“Means it’s working!” Hunk claps Shiro on his uninjured shoulder, the movement gentle none the less. “I’m gonna go get me a fresh plate of goo, this has been one stressful afternoon.” The others chime in, talking over one another as they head for the door.

Shiro stays where he is. He looks across the room and finds Allura watching him. To anyone else, she would appear calm. But he knows better. 

Allura forces a tight, small smile onto her face. “I’m glad you’re safe,” She says. Her voice is quiet; there’s a soft echo to it in the empty room. 

She turns away, finding a different exit, and Shiro is left alone, knowing that he has no choice but to pay a visit to his princess tonight.

———————————

It’s hard to have a proper concept of time while drifting through space, but it feels late when Shiro finally makes it to Allura’s room. 

His steps are soft, though they still echo through the empty hall, and when he reaches her room, his knock is just as quiet.

But she hears it.

Allura opens the door and lets Shiro in. She closes it behind him, turning her back to return to her bed. The hem of her robe whispers across the floor as she moves.

Shiro follows her. He studies the mass of hair flowing down Allura’s back, reaches out to brush his fingers through a few strands. They glide between his fingers, the softness telling him that she's just finished brushing her hair, reminding him of clouds gliding across the sky. 

Allura stops when she feels Shiro’s touch. She sighs quietly, her shoulders slumping. 

“I’m alright, you know,” Shiro murmurs. He moves closer, leaning down to place a gentle kiss to the crown of Allura’s head. 

The princess sighs again. She turns to face her paladin. Her hands slip beneath the hem of his sleep shirt and slide it up, up, up, until it’s high enough to be removed. Shiro obliges easily and drops the fabric to the floor. It flutters to a quiet heap beside his bare feet.

He watches Allura. Her eyes are focused on his shoulder. She studies the stark white of the gauze, traces the clear tape holding it in place. It’s all too easy to picture the burn beneath it. 

Her gaze shifts, blue eyes sharp and critical as they travel down his arm. There is a relatively unmarred expanse of skin between the burn and the prosthetic on Shiro’s arm, into which an army of scars disappear. Her gaze shifts again, traveling across his collarbone, his chest, his abdomen, travels up his other arm, before it comes to rest on his face.

It isn’t the first time she has seen him shirtless, and it will not be the last, but the new wound reminds her of all that her lover has already suffered through.

Shiro picks up on this. He feels somewhat shy under the intensity of Allura’s gaze, but his own eyes soften when he realizes what she’s thinking about.

“It scared me,” Allura murmurs. She lifts a hand, rests her finger tips against Shiro’s stomach. Her touch is feather light. “Everything was fine, and then I saw you fall - fly, more like, the machine hit you so hard-” She cuts herself off by exhaling a soft breath, brows knitting together.

Shiro lifts a hand and cups Allura’s cheek. Her skin is warm against his; the heel of his palm rests lightly against the corner of her mouth, thumb stroking once across her cheek bone. 

“It scared me too,” He admits, voice as soft as hers. 

Allura presses her lips together. She relocates her hand to Shiro’s hip and turns them around, then pushes him gently to sit, which he does obediently. Tugging her skirt up enough, Allura climbs onto the bed with both knees on either side of Shiro’s hips. She settles in his lap and looks at the bandage again, fingers lifting to ghost over the edge of it. 

“I’ll fix it,” She promises. There’s an edge of determination to her voice. “I do not want anyone else getting hurt. I’ll fix the malfunction.” 

Perhaps she’s being a tad paranoid, but when Shiro had fallen earlier, a terrified part of her mind had insisted that he wouldn’t get back up - that he would be lost to her, lost like so many other important people and important things had become.

Humming softly, Shiro takes Allura’s hand. His bionic fingers wind around hers, careful not to pinch her skin, and he lifts her hand to his mouth, peppers soft kisses across her knuckles. He isn’t sure what he can say at the moment, if there is anything he can say that would comfort her like she needs. 

Shiro winds his other arm around Allura’s waist and pulls her closer. He leans in and kisses her cheek. “I know you will,” He murmurs, voice soft, warm, assured. “We’re a team, Princess. All of us. We protect each other.” He knows that the response would’ve been the same no matter who had been hit; everyone would’ve been deeply concerned.

Allura hums, not quite satisfied. But she settles an arm around Shiro’s shoulders, fingers brushing the side of his neck. 

“I know you'll protect me,” He murmurs, kissing the corner of Allura’s mouth. Her fingers press a bit more firmly against his neck and he knows he’s found the right words. He knows that Allura is a leader, that the safety of the team is her top priority, but now he understands that the need to keep him safe runs a bit deeper for her. 

Tightening his hold on her waist, Shiro kisses Allura softly, gently. He bumps his nose against hers and murmurs, “I know you’ll do your best to keep me safe. I trust you.” 

It takes a moment, but the tension finally bleeds from her shoulders. Allura closes her eyes. She cups the back of Shiro’s neck and rests her forehead to his, exhaling softly. When she sits back, she looks calmer, feels more collected. 

With another kiss, Shiro lays back, pulling Allura with him. She shifts to settle against his side, not wanting to aggravate his burn, and locks her arm tightly around his middle. His fingers run through her hair to soothe her, lulling her into a sense of comfort and relaxation that has her feeling drowsy within seconds. 

It isn’t a life threatening injury. Her worry isn’t unfounded, but it’s not going to keep her up all night like she had thought. So she hugs Shiro closer, secure in knowing that her paladin is safe, that he is safest in her arms.


End file.
